Pain in an emergency department: an audit.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of care in patients with pain who visit the emergency department of a university hospital and the evolution of their pain during their emergency department stay.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed using two valid scales (a numerical descriptor scale or a verbal pain intensity scale), and a structured questionnaire to patients and use of patient charts to collect information on pain intensity on arrival and before discharge, characteristics of pain and of its management.

Results: In the 726 participating patients, median age was 37 years (range: 18-97), and 54% of the patients were men.

Management and relief of pain in an emergency department from the adult patients' perspective.

To estimate the prevalence of pain in adult patients attending an emergency department (ED) and to identify risk markers for insufficient pain relief, a cross-sectional survey was conducted for 16 days, 24 hours each day, in the ED of a Paris university hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to collect characteristics of pain and its management from patients. Pain intensity was evaluated both on arrival and before discharge using two scales (a numerical descriptor scale or a verbal pain intensity scale).